US internet push in Cuba angers island nation's government

A US task force aiming to expand internet access in Cuba met Wednesday for the first time, drawing the Cuban government's ire.

Cuba -- which maintains control over almost all media there -- says the group's very existence is an attack on the sovereignty of the Communist state.

"Over the next year, the task force will examine technological challenges and opportunities for expanding internet access in Cuba with the goal of helping the Cuban people enjoy the free and unregulated flow of information," a State Department statement said.

The group formed one subcommittee to explore the role of media and freedom of information in Cuba, and another to analyze internet access there. They will make recommendations in approximately six months.

The initiative, backed by the Donald Trump administration, comes after Washington under Barack Obama restored full diplomatic ties with Havana in 2015.

Cuba on Wednesday sent a note to the top US diplomat in Havana, Lawrence Gumbiner, to voice "strong protest" against Washington's "desire to flagrantly violate Cuban sovereignty concerning national laws regulating the flow of information."

This "attempt to manipulate the internet ... for political and subversive purposes" is aimed at "altering or destabilizing the constitutional order" in Cuba, it said.